Where's Scott?

With the Mabel’s visa initiated, and a quick run to the Chinese cemetery for a little tourism (43 hectares, a city of mausoleums!), we’re free to head towards Mabel’s home village on the island of Leyte. The route takes us through Cebu, one of Mabel’s old haunts, and she plans on catching a few friends there. Cebu is a small slice of Manila, but since Mabel knows the Jeepney routes here we opt for using them over a taxi. The Jeepneys are great, with their crowded benches and open sides, they put us much closer to the action.

We hook up with a friend of Mabel’s and check out a local bar where many more of Mabel’s friends soon make an appearance. Much of the action in the Philippines appears to be focused around the mall, and many of the better clubs are located there. It’s clear why, the malls are climate controlled and have security frisking people at the door, so it’s a comfortable and safe environment. The local mall back home could defintely use a few wild bars with live bands! After a few hours in the bar, we hit a bigger club, catch yet more of Mabel’s friends, and another Filipino band that would put a club band in the states to shame! Damn if these guys can’t sing!

Next day, we’re a bit rough (having been out past 4), but manage to meet Mabel’s older, gay sister and her girlfriend for lunch (Seb has to point out the sister to me as she, at 25, appears to be a 14 year old boy). Mabel and her sister kick it into Visaya high gear (their local dialect), so Seb and I wander the mall to pass some time. Seb quickly spots a portable DVD player, and with the streets filled with multi-movie discs and whole seasons of popular TV series for sale for pennies, he quickly decides he needs it. We spend the afternoon scouring the DVD stalls for “Lost” and Pink Floyd, and Seb has little difficulty finding everything he’s looking for. When you can find a whole season of TV on a single DVD, shopping for a whole series is easy!

Loaded down and hungry, we finally retreat to the hotel (and a nice local food stall we spotted there earlier), and find several dozen dragon suited Filipinos preparing for action. It may be Chinese New Year, but we’ve seen no sign of it about Cebu; there doesn’t appear to be much of a Chinese presence in town, but the hotel owners clearly want all the luck of the rituals, so they’ve hired a crew of Filipinos to put on a show. The guys do the job right, loud drums and clanging cymbals bring the dragons to life, and they chase a few bystanders and pluck red envelopes that hang around the lobby (I’m guessing holding cash). Outside, a 40ft dragon spirals around the building, stopping briefly for photos. Everyone has a camera!